Love is Love
by israelianbabe15
Summary: Ziva could have any man she desired, but the only man she wants seems to be out of reach. How can Ducky solve that problem! ZIBBS, FINISHED NOW... No smut.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: First of all I'd like to tell you that I will be posting every story on my livejournal from now on. They will go online there at least an hour before I put them on here. I do this because I no longer consider my stories safe here, mainly because of the purge and some of the other writers playing police. My account on livejournal is the same as here: 'israelianbabe15'.

In case me and my stories might be gone from here one day, please keep in mind that you can find me there.

This is all I will say about that topic.

Now, let's start a story that obeys the rules completely... (I hope)

ZibbsZibbsZibbsZibbs

Love is Love.

She had known for a while know, that men her own age tended to act very childish and immature. Tony Dinozzo and Timothy McGee had only been two of many examples Ziva had encountered in her life.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs, on the other hand, was all man. He was strong and mature, yet funny when appropriate. Other qualities of his included his ability to build a boat that could actually be used, and his trustworthiness, which was greatly appreciated by the young Israeli.

He was tall and handsome with incredibly beautiful blue eyes that gave her goosebumps every time he looked at her. Rides on the elevator with just him and no one else left her brain clouded with his scent, wood, bourbon, coffee – over all very manly.

She was sure that, if that moment ever came, he would be able to seduce her just by standing close to her, staring into her eyes. His eyes, his scent, the sheer thought of being able to be close to him, touch him, was enough to distract her from the simplest tasks. Once he caught her staring at him while she was supposed to write a report, and another time she kept standing too close behind him in an interrogation, taking in the smell of coffee and wood.

Not bringing up that topic in any conversation with her, he seemed just as smitten as her.

He, too, used to stare at her every now and then, wanting to touch her hair – her oh so perfect hair – feeling the need to kiss her lips – her soft, perfect, lips.

Sometimes, in the elevator, he could not help himself but take a small step closer to her. Her hair smelled like a mixture of mango and strawberry, and left him feeling more intoxicated than the bourbon ever had.

In a way, they both knew that the other one felt the same. However, acting on those feelings was a challenge for both of them. They had been used to hiding their feelings extremely well throughout their lives, for different reasons. He was her boss, he had rules against that kind of thing. She was young and beautiful, and could have any man she desired. Jethro almost wanted her to find someone. He wanted her to be happy with someone who was not him, feeling slightly insecure about his ability to give her everything she needed.

If it had not been for Ducky, the two of them would never have found their way into the relationship they would never want to miss.

TBC

A/N: Sorry that the chapter is so short, but I'll try to write a longer second chap.

Hope you like it so far! Review, please! :D


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: So there's a thunderstorm going on outside my window... woah, that was a loud one... anyway, I thought since I wont be able to sleep anyway, I'd write a new chapter to this. Also: the thunderstorm gave me an idea ;)

Chapter 2.

Ducky Mallard had never been one of those people who like to pry on other people's relationships. He had always tried to stay out of things that did not concern him, giving advice when asked for it or strictly needed, interfering only in the worst cases.

This whole thing between his best friend and the young Israeli on his team had slowly become one of those worst cases. They loved each other – something that had become obvious to almost every member of the team by now – and they just would not admit it, neither to each other nor to themselves.

Abby had wanted to help them along. Inviting them both over for dinner had not done anything – they had kept their distance all night. Manipulating them into working closer together had done nothing either – Who would ever be able to manipulate the two of them into anything?

The goth had failed in her quest to get the Bossman and Ziva together, so McGee had to take over. His approach never led anywhere though. Planting a little virus on Gibbs' computer and trying to get Ziva to help him only meant torture for the PC. It ended up thrown against a wall by Gibbs after Ziva had relentlessly – and without success – hammered on the key board.

Tony's plan had involved a movie night at his place with the whole team. Abby had left first, faking a migraine. After her, McGee had excused himself to pick up his sister from the airport. Ducky had been the next to leave, telling everyone he had to meet up with another M.E in the morning and he did not want to seem sleepy. Tony then called on his acting skills. McGee called him and Tony made it seem like something terrible had happened to one of his current girlfriends, which made him leave immediately. He had told Ziva and Gibbs to watch the end of the movie and then they could lock up whenever they left.

This plan had not worked either, since Gibbs and Ziva had no intention to finish a boring movie without the rest of the team, which made them leave right after Tony. The awkward tension between them might have been another reason.

It was now on Ducky to try and get the two of them to talk privately. His plan was a little more complex than the others and yet much easier to achieve.

ZibbsZibbsZibbsZibbs

Catching a case right before the weekend usually ended in an argument over who would be able to keep their plans and who would have to cancel them.

This time, everyone tried to make plans that could not be canceled, like doctors appointments or really anything that sounded important enough. Ziva and Gibbs would be stuck on this case together and all alone.

ZibbsZibbsZibbsZibbs

Ducky's plan depended mostly on timing. It had not even existed until the moment the case came in.

He had overheard Ziva tell Jethro that the victim had owned an old hut somewhere on the land. They initially hadn't wanted to go to the hut and search for evidence there, seeing as the victim hadn't been there in years, but Ducky saw his chance and set the plan in motion.

The first step was getting them to work on the case alone, which was quickly done when the rest of the team suddenly had extremely important plans for the weekend. The second step was to get them to go to the hut – the two of them, together in a cozy hut. This proved harder than expected.

They had no reason to go there and, even when Ducky had finally convinced them that someone should check it out anyway, Jethro almost sent Ziva alone, then wanted to go alone. It took a lot more interference from Ducky until they both finally got into Jethro's car and drove to the hut.

ZibbsZibbsZibbsZibbs

Once they were at the hut, it had already gotten dark outside. Ducky seemed to have had an excellent intuition – a thunderstorm started as they were pulling into the driveway of the small, romantic house, trapping them there for the night.

The old, wooden hut had not been used for years. However, the victim had had a ton of money, so everything was in perfect shape. Apparently, he had sent maids over there every now and then, to clean and check if everything was alright. Later that night, they even found some fresh food in the fridge, which came in handy. They had already found out that the victim had planned to stay there for the weekend, so he must have sent a maid to fill up the fridge before his trip.

The thunder started small, seemingly far away, which gave them some time to go threw the whole house, searching for evidence, without doubting that they could drive back to the bullpen later. However, the storm had grown stronger by the time they reached the highway, forcing them to turn back and stay at the hut.

Ziva instantly found her way into the bedroom, getting a ton of blankets in all varieties, and putting them on the couch in the living room. She then tried making a fire in the huge fireplace opposite the couch, which earned her the Gibbs-look.

'It's gonna get really cold in here in about an hour. I'd like to be prepared.'

He nodded and made his way into the kitchen to look for something that would qualify as coffee. The only thing he found, however, were ten bottles of bourbon, fifteen bottles of vodka and twenty-one bottles of rum. _No wonder our victim died in the back alley of a bar. _

Taking one bottle of bourbon back to the living room, he almost ran into Ziva, who had successfully made a fire and now intended to find something to cook.

_This kitchen door is not meant to fit two._

'Bourbon?'

'Thought it would keep us warm. Found no coffee.'

It was her turn to nod as she let him through to the living room, and then went into the kitchen.

When she came back half an hour later, she had made scrambled eggs – about a ton of scrambled eggs, to be exact – and had assembled some tomatoes on the side. The plates looked very full, but extremely nice, and Jethro had to smile at the fact that Ziva had put so much effort in a meal that would only have to keep them from starving.

'Looks good.'

'Thanks. It's nothing, really. Our victim doesn't seem to be very good with food. Found two bottles of tequila under the sink. Alcohol is obviously more up his alley.'

'Did ya see those other bottles in the corner? Vodka, Rum, Bourbon. Remind me to have Ducky run a tox screen.'

'You could call him right now.'

'No service. House phone's dead, too.'

'So we'll tell him tomorrow. He's probably gonna run one anyway. After all, the guy died behind a bar.'

ZibbsZibbsZibbsZibbs

Two hours later they were sitting on the couch, facing the fire place that had become the sole source of light when the power went off. They were covered in blankets, but they were still cold. The bourbon hadn't helped much, though one glass never really did.

Jethro was filling up their glasses again, much fuller this time, and as he handed her hers their fingers touched for a second. They both breathed in abruptly, looking at each other for only a moment, then staring back down into their glasses.

TBC

A/N: Yay, the thunderstorm is over... hope I didn't jinx it now... and my internet is back! Thank goodness, I can upload this right now ;)...

I actually feel like writing a Covert Affairs fic now... but I don't know... maybe by the time I upload this I wont feel like it anymore...

Anyway... Reviews would be largely appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Okay, so I decided to write another chapter to this story... re-read the whole thing... Denese925 reminded me that Ziva usually speaks differently (even though I don't completely agree with your description, because for one – she does not always end questions in '...yes?' - in the last chapter she was not asking if they should be prepared, she was stating it. It is part of her training to make sure to be prepared for anything and I kinda imagined her... you know... realizing that they would be stuck there for the night – training kicking in. She would not need to ask Gibbs what to do – she'd just do it. And with the contractions I'm honestly not sure anymore... I know she uses them sometimes... rarely – but she does. When I wrote this I had a little Ziva-voice in my head – as always^^ - and the sentences I wrote didn't seem to conflict with it... But I'll try to do better from now on.) - Thank you a lot! I always appreciate constructive criticism. I hope it doesn't bother you much that I don't really agree, but I will absolutely try to do better.

And I am so sorry that I haven't updated in so long! Semester finals have been over for a week now, and I've just been – well – doing absolutely nothing productive (besides making gifsets for tumblr, fangirling over how pretty Kari Matchett is, watching The OC, watching Men in Trees again...). I really need someone to push me to do something.

But I have come around to update my Covert Affairs story (about Auggie/Joan^^), which I am extremely proud of! The Covert Affairs/NCIS crossover is yet to be written... my muse is nowhere to be found.

Chapter 3.

Bourbon had become the most interesting thing in the world.

Even though Ziva usually preferred whine, she relished the taste of her boss' favorite liquid as she took another sip. She had to admit the whole situation seemed very romantic. Thunder rolling through the sky, lightening flashing every now and then, a power outage, and the fireplace as the only source of light and heat. Gibbs' presence only made it worse.

It should have been Dinozzo or McGee stuck up here with her. She could have dealt with that. They never made her weak in the knees, or made bugs fly around in her stomach – or was it butterflies?!

Gibbs' crystal blue eyes seemed even deeper than normal and his silver hair reflected the light of the fireplace perfectly. She couldn't possibly look at him again. Every flash of lightening just made it worse – hitting him in all the right places. Why must he have such a handsome face?

The bourbon was a welcome distraction. It, too, reflected the light of the fireplace,and every flash of lightening seemed to bring bring out a new color in the brownish liquid – though maybe that was just the alcohol taking over her senses.

Gibbs, just as his young agent, had been staring into his glass for quite a while now, taking a sip now and then, and feeling the effects more and more. Shouldn't he have gotten used to this stuff by now?! Or maybe there was another reason for him to become lightheaded that night.

Ziva was wearing that sweet perfume that always made his senses go crazy. It smelled fruity, exotic – maybe Mango, or Maracuja? Sitting next to her, almost uncomfortably close, he couldn't help but shut his eyes for a moment, taking in her scent. Mango – definitely.

_Don't do that, Jethro! She's young enough to be your daughter. She's your agent. She's your friend. Don't smell her!_

The romantic scenery wasn't exactly helping with that.

He should probably just keep staring into his glass. Ziva seemed to have found some interest in it.

ZibbsZibbsZibbsZibbs

Refilling their glasses again – he didn't remember if he had done this four or five times already – his fingers accidentally brushed hers again. Her eyes turning from the glass immediately and focusing on his. He couldn't help but stare at her for a moment – her hair curly now that it dried. It had gotten wet on their way in, but the air had dried most of it by now.

Her beautiful dark curls seemed a shade lighter now, as the fire flickered in the fireplace close by. A flash of lightening lit up her face for just a second, making her features even prettier than ever.

Subconsciously, he moved his hand so it could touch hers a little more. The change was almost too small to notice, but Ziva's senses were heightened, so she felt every bit of it.

The next flash of lightening brought both of them out of their trance and back into the real world. Jethro drew away his hand quickly, setting down his glass on the coffee table next to the bottle. Ziva shook her head for a second and set down her full glass of bourbon next to his.

'We should probably try and get some sleep.'

Ziva only nodded in agreement.

ZibbsZibbsZibbsZibbs

They had quickly decided to stay on the couch, as the bedroom was about as cold as it gets and the fire made the living room somewhat cozy. They decided not to stop the fire, as it had become smaller anyway and didn't pose much of a threat. The couch was big and full of blankets they had found all over the house – they would be warm all night without even touching.

ZibbsZibbsZibbsZibbs

Falling asleep with a little distance between them, facing in opposite directions, had been a conscious decision. Waking up in each others arms hadn't.

When Ziva opened her eyes in the morning, the thunderstorm was over and she found herself curled around her boss. Her head was resting on his chest, one of her arms was draped over his torso, one of her legs lay comfortably between his. Her knee was only inches away from an area she should never be close to.

_He's my boss – No matter how good this feels, I have to move!_

When Jethro opened his eyes, his arm was around his agent, holding her close. His other hand was intertwined with hers on his chest, and her soft curls tickled his neck.

All would have been fine – almost appropriate – if she hadn't tried to move away slowly.

Feeling her stirring in his embrace, trying to slide away from him, Gibbs tightened his one arm around her and squeezed her hand ever so slightly. Her leg had moved a few inches closer to the area she had tried to avoid, which made Jethro tense up slightly as he felt himself grow hard beneath the sheets.

'Sorry.' Ziva said.

He did not answer.

It was quiet for what felt like an hour, while it was probably only a few seconds.

'I should... I should go... do something...'

But she didn't move.

Seconds passed.

'The weather seems to have gotten better.'

Silence.

She tried to move again, but his arm held her in place.

'What are we doing, Ziver?'

She didn't know how to answer that.

It was quiet again – both of them thinking about how they got here.

He had known about his attraction for her since the day they met. A dark beauty with ninja skills, who hadn't lost her ability to feel, to show vulnerability every now and then. Later, he had realized that not everyone got to see this emotional side of her, and he loved being there for her when she needed him.

But they were colleagues – friends. Nothing should ever happen between them.

She had known about her attraction for him since the first time she had read his file. A marine, her father's age, with piercing blue eyes and a past as troubled as hers. Not many people knew him as good as her, even before they met, but nothing had prepared her for the effect he had on her. She trusted him more than anyone and felt the need to be there for him whenever she could.

But they were colleagues – friends. Nothing should ever happen between them.

'I can't do this anymore.', he said, 'I like being your boss. I like being your friend... I just don't think that's enough for me anymore.'

She moved again, not away but closer. Lying on top of him, her hands on both sides of his head, she kissed him, and, for the first time in her life, she felt invincible. Everything seemed perfect. Nothing could bring them down.

His hands resting on her hips, he rolled them to the side to lay on top of her.

The smile on his face was the most honest one she had ever seen from him and she instinctively knew that she would see it a lot for the rest of her life – because she would do anything to keep him happy.

Her eyes showed him a feeling he had never seen in them before, at least not directed at him – Love. With this realization, his smile grew even bigger and he knew that as long as she looked at him like this, he wouldn't need anything else to keep him happy.

As they kissed again, Ducky – back in D.C. - smiled to himself, without really knowing why. It just felt right.

The End.

A/N: Whoa... it's 3:19am... I should go to bed...I hope I'll wake up to some reviews^^ Thanks to everyone who already reviewed the previous chapters. I love you all! Reviews just make me so happy!


End file.
